Spokesman: President's goal is the resumption of talks the soonest

President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades` goal is for the Cyprus talks to resume as soon as possible and on the correct basis, Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromos has said.

Invited by the CNA to comment on press reports that the UN Secretary-General is planning to convene a conference on Cyprus in the summer, he said that what is concrete at this stage is the UN Secretary-General`s willnigness and the effort of his envoy Jane Holl Lute for the resumption of the Cyprus negotiations. 

Prodromou pointed out that Turkey is deliberately causing delays, while the Turkish Cypriot leader avoids any meeting. 

Since autumn, when the UNSG appointed his envoy, the Turkish side has been deliberately causing delays and avoids the resumption of the Cyprus talks, he said. 

Prodromou stressed that the Cyprus President`s goal is the resumption of the talks as soon as possible and on the right basis. 

Referring to the UNSG`s report on Cyprus, he said that it will be discussed at the UNSC and noted that the report, in general terms, is a positive stressing that the UN persist and are willing to contribute to the resumption of the talks. 

"Our side responds positively. We basically await for Turkey", he said. 

The Spokesman was also invited to comment on a report by Phileleftheros daily, according to which Turkey, through the pseudostate in Cyprus, informed the UN of its willingness to proceed with drilling within Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone. 

Noting that the UN itself has declared the pseudostate as illegal, null and void, thus any document has no validity, he said that those actions fall within the Turkish side`s constant threats on the basis of an illegal approach. He explained that Turkey is the only country in the world which does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and said that the response to this are the numerous international agreements of Cyprus and interstate agreements with countries of the region for the delimitation of the EEZ, the support from states like the US, Russia and the EU which support Cyprus` sovereign rights to its natural wealth and its EEZ.

The Spokesman told CNA that the Republic of Cyprus` response is that it continues with its energy plans and recalled that with the establishment of the National Hydrocarbons Fund, the natural wealth of Cyprus is exploited in a responsible manner and to the benefit of both communities on the island. 

He added that  the Cyprus President is constantly and diplomatically strengthening Cyprus` position through the tripartite partnerships, which are expanding, by upgrading Nicosia`s relations with the US and cultivating its relations with its EU partners and allies, giving as an example  the strategic relation with France, which is one of the countries that has its own interests in Cyprus` EEZ, as well as through other contacts and referred to next week`s visit of President Anastasiades in China, where he will  hold a meeting with his Chinese counterpart and one other meeting with the Russian President. 

Concluding, he said that President Anastasiades highlights and enhances Cyprus` international position and role and said that  Turkey is a state with a destabilizing role in the region.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended inconclusively.